Morning Bell: Job Growth Should Be Stronger

The Obama Administration and the nation have cause to breathe a sign of relief as today’s monthly jobs report shows 243,000 jobs were created in January. Those numbers are of course good news, another positive sign of recovery, and another clear indication of the enduring strength of the American economy and American economic system. But, really, so long after recession’s end, we should be doing much better — and would be but for President Barack Obama’s debilitating anti-growth policies. In reality, the economy is recovering despite — not because of … More

Time to End Energy Tax Subsidies

Today, Senators Jim DeMint (R–SC) and Mike Lee (R–ID) introduced legislation that would move the United States a giant step forward in making our country’s energy market freer by eliminating targeted tax credits for energy sources and technologies. Their legislation, a companion to Representative Mike Pompeo’s (R–KS) bill, would force any tax policy that picks certain industries as winners and losers in the market to expire at the end of the year and expedite sunsets for tax credits extending multiple years. And it goes after all targeted tax credits: oil, … More

One Year Later, Another Look at Obamanomics vs. Reaganomics

By Daniel J. Mitchell

On this day last year, I posted two charts that I developed using the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s interactive website. Those two charts showed that the current recovery was very weak compared to the boom of the early 1980s. But perhaps that was an unfair comparison. Maybe the Reagan recovery started strong and then hit [...]

One Year Later, Another Look at Obamanomics vs. Reaganomics is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Obama’s Words Don’t Match with Action on Oil and Gas

At this State of the Union address, President Obama proudly stated that “American oil production is the highest it’s been in eight years” and declared that his Administration would “open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources.” While President Obama spoke favorably of the role that oil and gas development play in America, the President’s and his Administration’s actions don’t match with his words. There are several areas where the President and his Administration are unreasonably hindering access to more oil and gas for Americans … More

Blocking Real Jobs for Green Fallacy Is No Way to Strengthen Economy

Leading up to his third State of the Union (SOTU) address tonight, President Obama appears once again less interested in facilitating real job growth than in creating the mere appearance of job creation. In a SOTU preview video released over the weekend, Obama declared that American energy fueled by homegrown and alternative energy sources is an important step toward rebuilding the economy. This statement in conjunction with last week’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline suggests a continuation of the misguided focus on the government pushing so-called “green jobs,” whether … More

Chart of the Week: Slow Job Growth Means a Slow Economic Recovery

President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union address on Tuesday night. According to a preview video released this weekend, the speech will outline Obama’s vision for improving the economy and creating jobs. With an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, there’s much work to be done. But after three years of Obama’s failed policies, it’s unclear if anything Obama says Tuesday night will differ from the Keynesian ideas he’s already proposed. This week’s chart comes from Heritage’s analysis of the December unemployment report. The economy added 200,000 jobs … More

Does the DOS Environmental Impact Statement Dismantle Obama’s Reason for Rejecting Keystone?

In President Obama’s statement denying TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, he said, “The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment.” The President referred to a five-page Department of State (DOS) report that echoed why he decided in November 2011 to postpone the decision until after the 2012 election. Despite a rigorous, three-year environmental review with multiple comment periods, DOS recommended that the current route was not satisfactory … More

Narrow Interest Blocks Big Pipeline

The Obama Administration, encouraged by environmental groups, has blocked yet another affordable energy project—the Keystone XL Pipeline. Add this to the unconscionable slowdown of leasing and production in the Gulf of Mexico, foot-dragging on production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, blocks on offshore production in the Atlantic and Pacific, and continued prohibitions and impediments to production in non-park, non-wilderness areas of the Western U.S. and ANWR. For each one, the claim is that the production wouldn’t make much difference. Well, the XL Pipeline would bring 750,000 barrels per day … More

Morning Bell: Obama’s Magic Kingdom of Joblessness

Yesterday in Walt Disney World, the land “where dreams come true,” President Barack Obama appeared before Cinderella’s Castle to announce his latest plan to boost jobs in America–an effort to increase tourism to the United States. His announcement came one day after he flat out said “NO” to another plan that would have directly created at least 20,000 truly shovel-ready jobs–and 179,000 American jobs by 2035–while bringing more than 700,000 barrels of oil to the United States each day. That plan was the Keystone XL pipeline. Had the President approved … More

Obama to Obama Jobs Council: I Disagree

President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness released its third report January 17 entitled “Road Map to Renewal,” a worthy description of serious issues affecting the American economy coupled with set of proposals that, with few exceptions, can best be described as pretty thin gruel. The council—chaired by Jeffrey R. Immelt, the chairman and CEO of GE—was obviously constrained in many cases by political considerations imposed on it either by the Obama Administration or by itself as it recognized the political season. However, this report will likely be best known … More